2017 SBOA Award Winners

Published: March 11, 2018 12:46 pm EDT

Talented Ontario Sired and Ontario Bred pacers and trotters delivered impressive performances both within the province and beyond its borders in 2017.

Three-year-old trotting filly On A Sunny Day and two-year-old pacing filly Percy Bluechip set all-time Ontario Sires Stakes speed marks and current and former Ontario Sires Stakes competitors captured over 20 open stake titles.

For the second year the Standardbred Breeders of Ontario Association will honour the leading money winners in the eight Ontario Sires Stakes divisions, the provincial program’s leading driver and trainer, and the SBOA Stakes champions with donations to the Ontario Standardbred Adoption Society and the Standardbred Racetrack Chaplaincy of Canada.

Also being honoured with donations are the winners of the SBOA’s designated awards. The Masterfeeds Awards are presented to a pair of outstanding broodmares, one pacer and one trotter, while the Chris Van Bussel Memorial Award and Lloyd Chisholm Achievement Award recognise people who have demonstrated ongoing leadership and service to Ontario’s harness racing industry.

Congratulations to all of the 2017 award winners!

Percy Bluechip

Two-year-old pacing filly OSS division champion and O’Brien Award winner

Shadow Play – Advantest – Artsplace

2017 OSS record: 5 4-0-0, $264,684, 1:51.2f

2017 overall record: 9 5-1-0, $440,795, 1:51.2f

Breeder: Blue Chip Bloodstock Inc., Wallkill, NY

Owners: Shadow Two Stable, Puslinch; James & Wilma MacKenzie, Ennismore, ON; Hudson Standardbred Stable Inc., Hudson, QC

Trainer: Dr. Ian Moore • Driver: Trevor Henry

Western Passage

Two-year-old pacing gelding OSS division champion

Sportswriter – Ever Western – Western Hanover

2017 OSS record: 5 2-2-0, $193,700, 1:51.3s

2017 overall record: 10 2-3-1, $206,980, 1:51.3s

Breeder: Winbak Farm, Chesapeake City, Maryland

Owners: West Wins Stable, Cambridge; John & McKinlay Fielding, Toronto; Calhoun Racing Ltd., Chatham, ON

Trainer: Casie Coleman • Drivers: Travis Cullen, Yannick Gingras, and Doug McNair

Kadabra Queen

Two-year-old trotting filly OSS division champion and O’Brien Award winner

Kadabra – Queen Street – Duke Of York

2017 OSS record: 6 5-0-0, $320,800, 1:55.1s

2017 overall record: 10 5-1-3, $328,380, 1:55.1s

Breeder: Harness Horsepower Inc., Campbellville, ON

Owners: Harness Horsepower Inc., Campbellville & Frank Monte, Markham, ON

Trainer: Chad Milner • Driver: Scott Coulter

Draft Year

Two-year-old trotting gelding OSS division champion

Kadabra – Allmar Victory – Angus Hall

2017 OSS record: 3 2-0-0, $160,300, 1:56.4ss

2017 overall record: 6 2-2-1, $168, 980, 1:56.4s

Breeders: Diane Ingham & Harry Rutherford, Mount Pleasant, ON

Owners: Doug Millard, Woodstock; Ben Mudry, Toronto, ON; Tim Murray, Shawville, QC; Howard Taylor, Philadelphia, PA

Trainer: Brad Maxwell • Driver: Randy Waples

The Joy Luck Club

Three-year-old pacing filly OSS division champion and O’Brien Award finalist

Camluck – Oh The Joy – American Ideal

2017 OSS record: 6 3-1-0, $240,150, 1:50.3s

2017 overall record: 22 14-4-0, $333,807, 1:50.3s

Breeders: Beechwood Acres, Burlington & Mark Horner, St. Marys, ON

Owners: R A W Equine Inc., Burlington; Mark Horner, St. Marys; and Gregg McNair, Guelph, ON

Trainers: Gregg McNair & Mark Horner • Drivers: Doug McNair & Mike Horner

Tymal Peacemaker

Three-year-old pacing gelding OSS division champion

Mach Three – Flying Color – Real Artist

2017 OSS record: 5 1-2-0, $158,500, 1:51.2s

2017 overall record: 10 3-2-2, $182,890, 1:50.2s

Breeder: 1443059 Ontario Inc., Oldcastle, ON

Owner: Bayama Farms Inc., Saint-Andre-D’Argenteuil, QC

Trainer: Stephane Larocque • Driver: Sylvain Filion

On A Sunny Day

Three-year-old trotting filly OSS division champion

Muscle Mass – Dicent No – Promising Catch

2017 OSS record: 6 4-1-0, $300,280, 1:53.3

2017 overall record: 14 6-2-1, $365,936, 1:53.3s

Breeder: Luc Blais, Lochaber Ouest, QC

Owner: Determination, Montreal, QC

Trainer: Luc Blais • Driver: Sylvain Filion

R First Class

Three-year-old trotting gelding OSS division champion and O’Brien Award finalist

Kadabra – World Class Image – Balanced Image

2017 OSS record: 6 3-2-0, $229,287, 1:53.2s

2017 overall record: 12 7-4-0, $307,246, 1:53.1s

Owner/Breeder: Thomas & Elizabeth Rankin, St. Catharines, ON

Trainer: Ben Baillargeon • Drivers: Mario Baillargeon & Sylvain Filion

Fade

SBOA Stake pacing filly champion

Shadow Play – Breathe – Northern Luck

14 3-3-1, $148,885, 1:51.3

Breeders: Stephen Dey, Allentown, NJ

Owners: West Wins Stable, Cambridge & Calhoun Racing Ltd., Chatham, ON

Trainer: Casie Coleman • Driver: Travis Cullen

Magic Presto

SBOA Stake trotting filly champion

Kadabra – In The Mean Time – Muscles Yankee

12 5-4-2, $417,434, 1:52.1

Breeder: Herb Liverman, Miami Beach, FL

Owners: Melvin Hartman, Ottawa, ON; Herb Liverman, Miami Beach; David McDuffee, Delray Beach, FL; Little E LLC, New York, NY

Trainer: Richard Norman • Driver: Trevor Henry

No Strikes Against

Masterfeeds Outstanding Pacing Broodmare

Western Hanover – Strike A Balance – Artsplace

Breeders: Robert McIntosh Stables Inc., LaSalle; Paul Ysebaert, Mooretown, ON; C S X Stables, Liberty Center, OH

Owners: Seelster Farms Inc., Lucan, ON

Dam of 2017 Gold Leg winner Nascar Seelster (1:51.4s, $128,147, Mach Three) as well as Camluck sons Nitro Seelster (1:49.4f, $219,188) and Nirvana Seelster (1:48.0s, $840,834) and Bettors Delight gelding National Seelster (1:50.2s, $380,687).

World Class Image

Masterfeeds Outstanding Trotting Broodmare

(3, 1:55.2s, $300,756)

Balanced Image – Gramola – Supergill

Breeders: Glengate Farms, Campbellville, ON

Owners: Tom & Elizabeth Rankin

Dam of 2017 three-year-old trotting gelding OSS champion and O’Brien Award winner R First Class (1:53.1s), a winner of $307,246 lifetime, and R Raised Emotions (1:52.3s, $121,934) both by Kadabra. Also the dam of former OSS Grassroots winner World Class Izzy (1:56.2s, $50,018) by Muscle Mass.

Sylvain Filion

Lampman Cup winner

2017 OSS statistics: 146 30-24-15-16-18, $1,645,359, 368 Lampman Cup points (fifth Lampman Cup title).

Leading drives: Tymal Peacemaker, On A Sunny Day, R First Class, Wildriverbumblebee, Yaris Bayama, Capteur De Reve, Soiree Seelster

Mark Steacy

Johnston Cup winner

2017 OSS statistics: 88 17-12-13-18-6, $508,276; 218 Johnston Cup points (second Johnston Cup title).

Stable stars: Delcrest Magicstar, Dream Massive, Hudson Phil, Majestic Kat

Rolling Acres Farms

Chris Van Bussel Memorial Award winner

The Chris Van Bussel Memorial Award was established in memory of the Seelster Farms founder to recognize persons of integrity who have been of service to both the SBOA and the greater harness racing industry, and in 2017 the SBOA is proud to present the award to the Klemencic family’s Rolling Acres Farm.

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The Klemencic family has bred and owned some outstanding horses over the course of their long-time participation in harness racing, but 2017 saw the Trenton, ON residents reach a whole new level of success. There were 18 Klemencic-bred horses competing across North America last season, but none of them provided the family with more thrills than three-year-old trotting colt What The Hill. The son of Muscle Hill out of Stan Klemencic’s Angus Hall mare K T Cha Cha triumphed in the Breeders Crown, Canadian Trotting Classic and TVG Open on his way to earnings of $1 million and the 2017 Dan Patch Award for sophomore trotting colts. What The Hill’s standout season also earned Klemencic his first-ever nomination for the Armstrong Breeder of the Year O’Brien Award. What The Hill’s success followed on the heels of a stellar 2016 season that saw another trotting colt that they bred, two-year-old Mass Production, capture the OSS Super Final in a record time of 1:54.4. A Muscle Mass son out of the Angus Hall mare All Time Favorite, Mass Production captured the both the 2016 OSS divisional title and the freshman trotting colt O’Brien Award.

Greg Blanchard

Lloyd Chisholm Achievement Award winner

Established in honour of one of the founding fathers of the OSS program, the Lloyd Chisholm Achievement Award recognizes a member of the harness racing community for their ongoing meritorious service, and in 2017 the deserving recipient is Greg Blanchard.

The hard-working Blanchard spends his days serving as the Director of Racing at The Raceway at Western Fair District, but the Prince Edward Island native’s talents and contributions extend beyond the realm of raceway management. Throughout the summer Blanchard can be found filling in as an announcer at tracks across the province and is a regular part of the colour commentary team for events like Grand River Raceway’s Industry Day, and Flamboro Downs’ Confederation Cup. Prior to making the move to The Raceway in 2010, Blanchard spent a decade at WEG, working both on-air and in the Standardbred communications department, and he makes regular returns to Mohawk Park for the track’s signature stake events. The London, ON resident served as the long-time host of the SBOA Awards Banquet and he has co-hosted the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame induction gala since 2015. Blanchard is always willing to go the extra mile to promote harness racing and he has also been known to sport the occasional pink tutu or coat of purple paint in the name of fundraising.

(SBOA/Sandra Snyder)

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